Pygmalion
by Victoria Kathleen Wright
Summary: The true narcissist falls in love with everything about himself, including his work. A reworking of George Bernard Shaw's beloved Pygmalion.
1. Act 1, Scene 1

**ACT 1**

**_Scene 1_**

* * *

_King's Cross. September 9, 2002. 11:25 AM_

"MOTHER!"

A young, raven-haired woman dressed in elegant robes marched down Platform 9 & 3/4. With her high cheekbones, silky hair, and sapphire eyes, she would have made a lovely sight had she not been hurling curses and rants out of her plump lips for the past half hour.

Another woman, older but just as lovely, and bedecked in even more regal robes and extravagant jewelry than her companion, sighed.

"Yes, Astoria?"

The younger woman, Astoria, stomped her left foot in response.

"Don't do that, Astoria, it's unbecoming!" Her mother snapped. "Even in a crowd of the scum of the magical world, we are expected to retain our dignity."

Astoria sneered. "I don't see why we're here in the first place. A servant could have brought Caelum to this filthy Muggle station."

"We're on probation, Astoria. It's our job to mingle successfully with Muggles if we do not want to be on house arrest."

"I prefer the latter."

Mrs. Greengrass shot a tired glare at her daughter. "Please, Astoria."

Astoria huffed. "Well, fine. But there's no legal need for us to stay here twenty minutes later. I do wish Damien would hurry up with the Muggle vehicle. We can't stand here until half-past eleven with the rest of these commoners!"

A dark-skinned, well-dressed young man strolled over to the Greengrass women. "Unfortunately, Astoria, it seems we are all to be stranded here for the time being. The storm simply won't agree with my need for sunshine and fresh air; I may have somehow offended it." Astoria huffed in disapproval.

The gentleman, in turn, ignored her and instead bowed and kissed the hand of her mother. "Mrs. Greengrass."

Mrs. Greengrass, with a genuinely pleased smile to contrast with her daughter's frown, addressed him. "My word, Blaise Zabini back in England? Am I dreaming?"

Zabini chuckled. "You flatter me, Mrs. Greengrass. I can only aspire to star in such a lovely lady's dreams."

Astoria rolled her eyes just as a young man, sopping wet and dripping water all over the place rushed over to the trio. "Damien! Have you got us a ride?"

The dark-haired man shook what seemed to be a swimming pool's worth of water out of his hair. "There's not one to get. I haven't been blown away to a distant land or anything either in this hellfire of a storm, though, thanks for asking."

Mrs. Greengrass cried, "Never mind that. You can't have tried!"

"Of course I did, Mother. Do you really think I felt a terrible need to be scolded and whined at yet again today?"

Astoria was now very anxious, seeing as it was now 11:32 and past her most recently set deadline. "You can't have tried at all."

Mrs. Greengrass, for once, agreed with her daughter. "You really are very helpless, Damien. Go again; and don't come back until you have found a ride!"

Damien sighed. "I shall simply get soaked for nothing."

Astoria was furious. "And what about us? Are we to stay here all night with the rest of this trash? You selfish pig—"

"Oh, all right! All right - I'll go!"

Damien dashed out, only to collide into a young woman stalking towards the group from the throng of other wizards on the platform. Just then, there was a flash of lightning and a rattling peal of thunder, but even those couldn't drown out the response of the victim of Damien's hastiness.

"Look where you're going, you aimless idiot! Now see what you've done!"

"Sorry." Damien muttered, without looking once at his accuser, and promptly exiting.

His victim was a young woman, around the age of Astoria and Blaise. She had flaming red hair, but it was all matted with mud and stuck to her skin, giving her a striking resemblance to a drowned rat. Her complexion was pale; in fact, it was almost too pale. Her sickly-looking skin was further blemished by freckles that seemed to overrun her nose and cheeks. To complete the picture, she was dressed in baggy Muggle clothes that covered any redemption her figure may have offered. At the moment, she was crouched on the ground, trying to gather the papers she'd had in her arms previous to being knocked over by Darren.

Mrs. Greengrass's eyebrows rose while Astoria sniffed and held her nose in the air. Blaise, however, only hesitated a moment before rushing over to help the young woman.

When all the papers were gathered up, she straightened and thanked Blaise. "Thanks, Zabini. Nice to see you back in town."

Blaise responded with a charming smile which lit up his brown eyes. "Nice to see you as well, Weasley. How come you're here? Last I heard, you had no children to call your own."

The woman shrugged, resulting in water droplets flying everywhere. To his credit, Blaise only cringed a little when some landed on his neatly-pressed suit.

"I'm actually just here to get people to sign this petition. It's going to get the Ministry to improve conditions for inmates at Azkaban. Did you know they don't even get a proper bed in their cells?"

Blaise smirked and had just opened his mouth when a smooth, drawling voice cut in. "They also don't get to take walks in the garden. Injustice, am I right?"

Ginny, Blaise, and the Greengrasses turned to the source of the voice: a young man with platinum-blond hair slicked back neatly; a sharp, pointed nose; and glinting silver eyes. He sat on a bench, previously hidden by the masses, and was sketching in a pocketbook open in his lap.

The Greengrasses gasped, Blaise's mouth actually fell open for a moment, but only one of Ginny's eyebrows rose.

"Draco Malfoy."

"Girl Weasel."

Ginny simply rolled her eyes in response to the childish insult and busied herself with her papers again as Blaise stepped forward, having regained his composure.

"Draco, I didn't know you were back in town."

"I was always in town. I've just become the resident hermit." Draco responded, still not actually looking up at his audience.

The darker-skinned man was undeterred, as he was accustomed to this behavior from his old friend, and lowered himself into the seat next to him.

Ginny had finished stacking her papers (which were steadily becoming dirtier from her muddy fingers) and had just turned to leave when Draco spoke again.

"Weasley, you can't change the world by passing out flyers with your grubby little hands. Try wearing a tighter top and actually bathing, and then you might get some attention."

Ginny whirled around, eyes flashing with rage when she visually seemed to mentally compose herself and stalked away and out of the station.

Draco didn't look up once during this exchange.

Blaise cleared his throat. "Well, Draco, that was a bit harsh, don't you think?'

"It was also totally true, _Blaise_."

"Be as that may, you really had no right to say that to her. I mean, the poor thing doesn't need to be told by you how she's been on the decline. She was dumped by Potter a few months back, and Merlin knows what her mother has to say about all that."

Draco finally looked up, a smirk just hiding beneath the surface. "Well, then. I just can't be rude to that poor victim of life, now can I?"

Astoria, who had long ago lost interest in the scene taking place before her, mostly because it had nothing to do with her, cried out. "Look, Mother! The rain has stopped!"

Mrs. Greengrass sighed happily and looped her arm through her daughter's. "Thank Merlin. Let's see if we can catch the Knight Bus, Astoria."

She then started off with her daughter, and Astoria's responding wail of "Mother!" echoed off the station's walls.

Blaise and Draco, both completely ignoring the two women who had just left, continued their conversation.

"Enough about Weasley. How've you been, Zabini?" One of the corners of Draco's mouth had finally inched up.

Blaise grinned in response. "Well, I just got back in the country from a very long trip around Europe."

"I heard." Draco said wryly.

"And although it was fascinating and very relaxing, it's great to be back home."

"You got kicked out." Draco said bluntly, turning back to his notebook.

Blaise exhaled. "Yes, yes I did. Should've known that would have been making headlines everywhere. You know of any good permanent residences?"

Draco looked up and glared. "You're not seriously asking me that, are you?"

"What?"

"Blaise, we may not have talked in years, but you're always welcome at the Manor." Draco paused, and then reconsidered. "Well, at least for two months. My parents are out at our vacation home for the summer, but they'll be back in September. It's up to them when they get back."

"Please, your parents adore me." Blaise arched an eyebrow. "I'm like the son that's better than the one they have."

"Watch it, or I may have to rescind the offer." Draco snorted.

At that moment, Damien Greengrass raced onto the platform, only to find it empty besides the two men seated on the bench, groaned, and stomped back out.

* * *

**Lizz's Prompt #1**

**Basic premise: **Rework the basic storyline or theme of a work of mythology or classic (in the broadest sense as you would like) literature to Draco and Ginny at any point in their lives.

**Must haves: **Allusions to the original work.

**No-no's: **Fluff, OOC-ness.

**Rating range: **Any (although smut is _not_ preferred).

**Bonus points: **If you can include dialogue or quotes from the original in your fic.

**A/N: The classic I chose (because Lizz did say in the broadest sense) was the play **_**Pygmalion**_**. It was written in 1912 by George Bernard Shaw and later adapted into the film **_**My Fair Lady **_**(1964), starring Audrey Hepburn. **

**I first came across the book last winter, and immediately fell in love with it. Eliza and Higgins had such a Draco/Ginny dynamic that of course it swept me in. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes reading.**

**There are plenty of quotes, especially in this first act, that are from the original play. I couldn't go back and find them all, so if you're interested, here's a link to the play: **** 138/**

**Enjoy!**


	2. Act 1, Scene 2

**ACT 1**

**_Scene 2_**

* * *

_Malfoy Manor. September 12, 2002. 9:15 AM_

Blaise sipped at his tea and shook out today's copy of _The Daily Prophet_, when he felt something tugging on his pants. He peered down to see little Milly, Draco's house elf.

"Mister Zabini will like biscuits with his tea?" Her high-pitched voice rang out throughout the room.

Blaise sighed, exasperated. He would never complain about living in luxury, but the house elves really could get annoying with their ever-burning desire to please.

"No, Milly, I won't, but thank you for offering." He smiled back at the little creature. Two years abroad had taught him that not everybody had servants, and that those who did should treat them with respect or risk mutiny.

(He had come to this conclusion initially because unfortunately, the reformed Ministry did not see torture as justifiable as a means of discipline anymore.)

Milly gave a great, shuddering gasp, and her bulbous eyes welled up with tears.

Blaise closed his own eyes in exasperation. House elves had a worse reaction to being treated with any sort of kindness than they did to actually being tortured. He hoped Granger was working hard on figuring out how to change house elf-master relations in her little S.P.E.W. movement.

Milly was even worse with this whole kindness thing than most house elves because she belonged to the Malfoys. Right now, her tiny frame was vibrating as she somehow managed to speak through her tears. "Master... _never..._ Milly never even _knew... _so kind..."

Blaise rolled his eyes before awkwardly trying to comfort the sobbing house elf for the seventeenth time in three days. At this moment, Draco finally thumped down the stairs, still in his bathrobe and pajamas (which were of course, both designer) with his hair ruffled and sticking up all over the place.

On the first morning, Blaise had been shocked to find his normally slick friend looking so unkempt, but he'd soon realized that as a recluse who lived all alone, Draco often didn't bother to even dress until two in the afternoon.

Blaise followed Draco into the dining room, where Draco sat in a chair, waiting patiently (well, as patiently as Draco can wait) for Milly to bring up his breakfast.

"Good morning." Draco nodded at Blaise.

In response, Blaise waved the paper in his face. "The Minister's planning a gala in honor of the anniversary of the reformed Ministry."

"And you think that's the best place to reintroduce yourself to society, and by extension, the papers." Draco finished, reaching over the table for a cup of tea.

"Yes, I do. The only people I've seen so far have been you and the Greengrasses. Hardly the best company." Blaise added, his eyes sparkling with mirth.

Draco snorted. "You can say that again. I can't stand them - _any _of them, not just their wretched, desperate daughter - for more than brief and infrequent bursts of time."

"You don't like Astoria? I thought she'd be exactly your type of girl - gorgeous, obedient, pureblooded, no ambition in life but to be able to shop for hours on end without looking at price tags..."

Draco looked lazily at his old friend. "You've changed, too, Zabini. Last I knew, we'd have been both competing for that sort of girl. No, I've changed as much as you, if not more. Look at me. I'm living all on my own, rarely leaving the house. Am I at all the boy you left behind?"

Blaise stood there, face impassive, and then he suddenly grinned wolfishly. "I don't know, are you still an arrogant selfish bastard?"

Draco smirked back. "As always, right on the first two counts, but I finally did check: my mother and father _were_ married before I was born."

The sound of little thuds coming from the hallway reached their ears, and they turned expectantly to the doorway before Milly stumbled in and bowed deeply, her little toga flying everywhere.

"Milly does not wish to interrupt, but Master has a guest."

Blaise raised an eyebrow and turned to a frowning Draco. "I'm not expecting anyone."

"Bring them in."

Milly left and returned two minutes later. Someone (assumingly a person) waddled in a huge puffy coat with a tuft of red hair sticking out at the top.

"Weasley." Draco identified their guest almost immediately.

Blaise now had two eyebrows raised and looked over at Draco, who shrugged.

"That's right." The guest in question said, shrugging off her monster of a coat.

"To what do we owe the displeasure?" Draco muttered, continuing to fork his omelet into his mouth.

Ginny glared at him while blowing strands of hair out of her face. She then crossed her arms over a horrendous pink jumper displaying her name across her chest in gold before closing her eyes and sighing.

Blaise and Draco exchanged glances. Clearly the suspense was meant for something rather big (and as Draco hoped, embarrassing).

After a few more moments of silence, Ginny finally opened her mouth. "I need your help, Malfoy."

Draco actually got up at this, walked closer, cocked his ear, and said, "Sorry, what?'

Ginny's eyes flamed, but she repeated herself. "I need your help."

Draco stepped back and smirked so widely Blaise thought his face would break in half. "Finally. A Weasley admits that they are inferior to a Malfoy."

Blaise thought to himself that actually, they both looked equally silly: him, in that ridiculous blue robe and one slipper and her, in that awful sweater most likely knitted by that mother of hers.

Ginny stomped her foot. "Never, ferret."

"Why, you little - "

"Ladies, do stop." Blaise drawled, cutting smoothly in between the two.

He turned to Ginny. "What could you possibly need help on from Draco?"

Ginny shrugged, looking at the floor. "Well... I've found, that even as the Minister's daughter, I am rarely taken seriously. Hell, Hermione's taken more seriously than me, and the only subjects she gets passionate about are books and elf rights! At first, I thought it was because I'm not as much of a household name as her, Harry, or Ron, but I've started to realize that's not the only reason. People's eyes literally pass over me, and I'm so tired of it! I have so much to say, but nobody cares beca- "

"Because you look the way you look," Draco interjected rudely.

For once, Ginny didn't argue. "Exactly," she agreed miserably. "And if lowering myself to a shallow societal depiction of beauty is what it takes to help prisoners in Azkaban get their rights, so be it."

Blaise didn't get it. "Wait, Weasley, you want us to give you a _make-over_?"

Draco scoffed. "Of course not. She wants us to make her into a lady."

Ginny brightened. "Yes, Malfoy. So you do have a brain in the pointy little head. I need to have that special sophistication that most people in the reformed Ministry don't have. Of course, on me, it won't be as arrogant as it is on you."

Draco glared. "I thought you needed my help."

She hesitated. 'Well, both of yours," she nodded at Blaise. "I need someone who's actually respected in public, too."

Blaise chuckled. "Well, I'm more absent in public than anything."

"Whatever." Draco snapped. "MILLY!"

The house elf appeared with a loud _crack! _"Yes, Master?"

"Take our guest upstairs, draw a bath, and get her out of that eyesore of a jumper."

"Wait a minute, Mal-" Ginny's pale face disappeared as Milly dragged her out of the room.

Blaise grabbed himself a muffin and took a bite before saying what was on his mind. "Why did you take her up, Malfoy? You're not getting anything out of this."

Draco grinned, his silver eyes glinting. "Don't you see, Zabini? If I can pass off FemWeasley as a lady, I can take a Muggle and get them admitted to Durmstrang. It's the ultimate challenge!"

Blaise rolled his eyes. "I don't know, Draco. She used to be quite the looker in our Hogwarts days, but she's really let herself go since. And I mean, _really. _It'll be a tough job, if not impossible."

Draco raised his eyebrows at Blaise. "Are you saying I can't do it?"

"I don't think anyone can do it."

Draco's feral grin almost reached his ears. "It's on. Twenty thousand galleons that not a single person at that gala of yours will recognize Weasley, not even her parents."

Blaise smirked . "It's really too bad I'm thanking you for your hospitality by stealing twenty thousand Galleons off you."

They both resumed their activities, but they could hear shrieks coming from two floors above them for the next three hours.


	3. Act 2, Scene 1

_A/N: This is where the "scenes" will start becoming combinations of shorter, actual scenes._

**ACT 2**

_**Scene 2**_

* * *

_Malfoy Manor. September 13, 2002. 12:45 PM_

Blaise walked down the stairs of the manor and stopped suddenly, surprised to see Ginny Weasley walking across the floor of the foyer.

Actually, it was only by process of elimination that he came to the conclusion that it _w__as _Ginny Weasley.

Her hair wasn't the tangled mass it usually was; now she had sleek and shiny curls that fell across her pale bare back like a phoenix's fiery bright feathers. Her hair no longer fell in front of her face, so her striking hazel eyes gleamed under her long, silky lashes. Her lips were pink, plump, and parted as she glanced up to check the book on her head. She wore a baby pink sundress that showed her slender, ivory back. Freckles were still sprinkled all over her body, but they didn't seem half as unattractive as they did a day ago.

Blaise stood at the foot of the stairs, stunned, as Draco walked up to him, smirking. "Still think you're going to steal twenty thousand Galleons from me?"

Blaise couldn't tear his eyes away from the woman balancing a book precariously on her head ten feet away from them. "You've absolutely transformed her."

"Well, she certainly looks a lot more attractive. But Weasley here needs a little more than just physical grooming. I'm working on mannerisms while Milly's out gathering up a new wardrobe." Draco replied, taking a sip of his pumpkin juice.

Both men's attention went to Ginny again fully when the book finally toppled from her head.

"UGH!" She growled, swooping down to grab the offending book from the floor.

"Yeah, I'm still not too worried." Blaise muttered to Draco.

Draco scowled back and stalked over to Ginny, his robe trailing behind him. "Weasley. _Weasley._"

"What, Malfoy?' She asked, focused on balancing the book precariously on her head again.

He snatched it off her head in one swift movement. "Okay, we're done with this. Etiquette time."

Ginny raised her eyebrows at Draco's back as he raced into the library, then turned and smiled at Blaise. "Hey there, Zabini."

Blaise smiled, covertly trying to make sure his eyes were still in their sockets. "How's it going, trying to balance a book on your head and all?"

She huffed. "First of all, I didn't think that was a legitimate thing. Second of all, it is _hard. _I honestly thought all I'd have to do was wear push-up bras and shirts that make my tits look bigger, but apparently there's more to being a lady."

Blaise laughed. "Weasley, if you just act like this all the time, people will take you more seriously than Potter and his lot."

"I think I'm more likely to get thrown out if I say 'tits', actually. Not to mention get disowned by my mother." She snickered.

He grinned back, quite liking the way her teeth gleamed and her lips parted when-

"WEASLEY!" Draco bellowed from the other room.

"The Master calls." Ginny sighed before winking at Blaise and sidling out.

He stood there, transfixed, before following her.

* * *

_Malfoy Manor. September 15, 2002. 2:15 AM_

Ginny snuggled into the humongous goose feather pillow even further and smiled contentedly in her sleep. The fantastic manor itself and its furnishings had been one of the few positives in the ordeal she was now facing.

Unbeknownst to the unconscious Ginny, who was now blissfully dreaming about a ferret being crushed under a pile of books while trying to balance them on his nose, someone slipped into her large bedroom. The shaded figure snuck carefully through the grand room and stopped right above Ginny's immobile figure.

The intruder gently pulled back one of the scarlet strands of Ginny's hair that had fallen over her face, tucking it neatly behind one ear. It was a beautiful and somewhat serene picture of a mysterious benefactor or lover standing guard over his muse, her pale skin ivory and her hair a filtered blood red in the moonlight.

And then suddenly the figure pinched Ginny. Hard.

"OW!" Ginny rose quickly, rubbing her arm furiously as sheets and hair fell all around her. "Malfoy! What the hell are you doing?"

Draco was on the floor at this point, nearly crying from his quiet, restrained laughter. "Oh Merlin, Weasley, you should've seen your face. Don't be so loud, now. We've got something to do, and I believe Milly and Zabini might not want to be a part of it."

"Oh." Ginny forwent yelling at Draco some more to sate her curiosity. "Okay, where are we going?" She whispered, excitement brimming in her eyes.

"Follow me," he gestured out the patio, and Ginny followed unquestioningly, used to Draco being Draco.

She joined him on the patio, and then they both leaned against the columns, watching the softly glowing half-moon as stars twinkled above them in the skies.

"So," said Draco suddenly, and Ginny turned reluctantly from the stars to look at him, only to find that he'd been watching her all along. "If we're going to pull this off, you need to be into deep stuff – like, for example, looking at stars."

"I think we're covered," Ginny responded softly, taking his hand.

Draco looked at her, an eyebrow raised to disguise fright of what might happen with surprise, but she only pointed his hand up into the night and traced a pattern of stars. "That's the constellation Draco."

He looked at her with a raised eyebrow, and she leaned forward on her elbows with a small, sad smile before answering his unspoken question. "I took Astronomy back at Hogwarts. I'm not all unpolished, Draco."

Draco shrugged and looked down at his hands before looking back up. "My mistake."

Ginny turned to him, an unbelieving smile creeping onto her face and light dancing in her eyes.

Draco rotated back towards Ginny. "As my apology…" He raised an arm, and two brooms immediately zoomed up, waiting for their riders.

Ginny let out a small squeal and clapped her hands noiselessly. "Quidditch!"

Draco rolled his eyes but couldn't stop a little smirk from appearing on his lips. "I figured you may want to have an outlet for all that unpolishing to seep through."

Ginny grinned happily and threw her arms around Draco for just a millisecond before she clambered onto her broom. "You're so right. Merlin, I hate being a lady."

"Probably because you're not cut out for being one," Draco managed through his shock at being hugged by her.

"Oh, yeah? Now watch this lady kick your arse at Quidditch." Ginny beamed at him gain with a devilish smile fixed on her face before flying away gracefully.

Draco's mouth dropped open. "Oh, we'll see about that!' He answered into the open air before taking his own broom and speeding off.

The next morning, Blaise could have sworn he'd heard plenty of laughter the last night, but he'd just attributed it to the elegant and alluring redhead in his dreams.

* * *

**A/N: Get ready for an absolutely awesome character in the next update!**


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